In PE 12 there is no create menu. I searched for info on how to create slideshows in PE12 and came up empty handed. Could not even find a link to the Instant Movie button. But I playied with that anyway.

Although it adds pans and zoom, it also adds effects I don't want and I don't see a way to control that. What's worse is that the result is one uneditable video, not a collection of pictures.

I am not sure who marked the above as correct, I am nowhere near a solution.

It all depends on what you're looking for, Kid. There are at least four different ways to build a slideshow in Premiere Elements -- each with its assets and its limitations.

But if you're going to be working with a lot of slides and you're doing very little video editing -- and you're looking for a lot of automatic and semi-automatic templates and options -- Premiere Elements may not be the best choice for you.

You may want to check out an excellent program called Pro Show Gold. It's probably the best (and most affordable) slideshow creator I've ever seen.

If you use the Premiere Elements 12 fxEffects/Presets and one of the horizontal zoom, horizontal pan, vertical zoom, or vertical pan effects, you can apply only one to each photo, that is, pan OR zoom and not pan AND zoom. I could envision a scheme where you could apply one of these effects to one photo and then do a copy/paste effects and adjustments for a group of selected photos. And, then you could repeat using another one of these effects for another photo, followed by the copy/paste effects and adjustments for another group of selected photos. The downside of this approach is in trying to edit part of the pan or zoom effect.

The Elements Organizer 12 would probably come the closest to giving you the "automatic pan and zoom" that you seek. In the Elements Organizer 12, select your photos, then Create Menu/Slideshow. After you click on Slideshow, a Slide Show Preferences dialog will appear before the Slideshow Editor opens. In the dialog, you can select the option "Apply Pan & Zoom to Each Slide". Your opportunity for editing these effects would come in the Slideshow Editor after you select one of the photos and make your adjustments in the Properties column at the right of the Slideshow Editor workspace.

Because the Premiere Elements 12 Pan and Zoom Tool adds considerally to the duration of its pan and zoom product and you have a lot of photos, I would not advise using the Pan and Zoom Tool in an "apply effect to all at one time" plan.

We are all the same. I think that I have Premiere Elements 12 Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 64 bit. Here is the break down of the possible routes

1. Premiere Elements 12 Expert workspace/Project Assets and you have selected/highlighted more than one file there. You right click anywhere in the selection/highlight and select Create Slideshow. Then you see the Create Slideshow dialog. There is no option there for pan and zoom effect. It can be a conventient way to place all the selections on the Timeline with regard to

a. "Apply Default Transition" (applies the same Default Transition to all the files that you have selected.

OR

b. "Place Images/Clips at Unnumbered Markers" (this requires unnumbered markers set on the Timeline before opening the Create Slideshow dialog....)

But what either one of will see will be that same Create Slideshow dialog that you present in post 9.

2. Premiere Elements 12 comes with an Elements Organizer 12 which offers that Slideshow opportunities that I mentioned back in post 8. In the Elements Organizer 12, you select the photos, then go to Create Menu/Slideshow. Before the Slideshow Editor opens, you face a Slide Show Preferences dialog. The screenshot shown in my post 8 shows that Slide Show Preferences dialog. Once you set up the Slide Show Preferences dialog and click OK in it, the Slideshow Editor opens. As mentioned previously, this route leans itself more to your plans of pan and zoom effects applied more than one at a time.

Please review the above and then let me know if you are OK with the details.

To open the Element Organizer, I do either File > Add Media From > Elements Organizer or simply Add Media > Element Organizer.

(As a side note here I have a few issues: 1) pictures not sorted even after selecting oldest first 2) not sure how to add pictures 3) Orphan pictures and not sure how to update them - But let's not worry about this for now)

In here I select 4 pictures to test. I don't see a Create SlideShow. All I have is the "Add Files" button (bottom right of dialog).

After I add the files to the timeline, I get no slideshow preference or editor.

See that ATR has entered the conversation and that you and ATR are now working through this problem and that you no longer need my assistance. I'm sure ATR will be able to help you resolve this situation.

a. If you opening the program to the Welcome Screen, just select Organizer.

In the Elements Organizer 12 workspace with Media Tab selected at top of workspace, import your files/folders with File Menu/Get Photos and Files/From Files and Folders.

b. Then review the following screenshot details and let us know if you are OK from the Elements Organizer 12 workspace through to the Slideshow Editor via the Create Menu/Slideshow option. See the Create Menu to the right of the Elements Organizer workspace (next to the Share Menu).

If you have not already, please check out the following Adobe document on creating a slideshow by the Elements Organizer route that we are discussing.

I see your pretty far down the road with ATR helping you out, but thought I might add that I used Pro Show Gold for my slide sequence's and then dumped them into elements to use with other video. It took me about two hours to learn the program and do a little tweaking. Its been a while since I did this and I can't remember if I had to convert the files or not but I know it worked out well. It's a good program, lot's of choices and intuitive.

With regard to your choice of video editor for creation of the slideshow as a video, what is the advantage of your choice with regard to the original question of "slideshow - automatic pans and zooms". You can get random pans and zooms with the Elements Organizer route. So then, what is the difference that led to your choices here?

Hi ATR. I guess what impressed me the most was the choice of very cool transitions and the ease of using the program. Just to see how it worked in the beginning I let it automate my batch of pic's. I think all I had to do was set the time interval . What it came up with was very nice. All I had to do was change certain slides time, and some transitions. You can also set your own pan and zoom parameters like elements, but I was in a time crunch and had to do it fast so I just let the program work it's magic. I wasn't that competent with elements back then, ( not so sure of my competency now ) so it all worked out OK. It also lets you add a narration or music track and gives you several export options. If you ever get any time you should try the free trial, but don't take too much time from the forum. I am a fan and keep track of your solutions for elements for which I thank you.

Thanks for your input. I will leave that as last resort. My montages are very fluid. I change them a lot in the process of creating them, so doing it in two steps would be very time consuming.

ATR,

Adobe made the questionable decision to name two completely separate parts of the system exactly the same... no wonder I was so confused. I was under Add Media > Element Organizer. What you are talking about is in Welcome Screen > Organizer. (The former appears to be a subset of the latter).

Anyway, I was able to create the SlideShow with pan/zooms! Now, it appears that in order to make changes (which I will need to do 100% of the times) I can only do it in the Slide Show Editor. Is there no way to import it into the full editor ? When I do it's just a video.

After you have created your slideshow in Elements Organizer Create Menu/Slideshow and its Slideshow Editor, be sure to save it to the Elements Organizer as a Slideshow Project. For that, look to the top left of the Elements Organizer workspace. In the line directly below the lineup of File, edit, View, and Help Menus, click on "Save Project". The Slideshow project will be save to the Elements Organizer as a "Slide Show Project". Look to the top right corner of the saved slideshow's thumbnail in the Elements Organizer workspace. When you have your mouse cursor over that area, a pop up with confirm Slide Show Project. In this format, you can double click that thumbnail to reopen the slideshow in the Slideshow Editor workspace from the Elements Organizer workspace for further edits and re-saving to the Elements Organizer workspace. You can even right click that thumbnail in that location and select Edit with Premiere Elements (if you do not want to go back into the Slideshow Editor workspace.)

Now, if you are in the Slideshow Editor and want to move the finished Slideshow to Premiere Elements, then, in the Elements Organizer Slideshow Editor, go to the Output option at the top of that workspace and select Edit with Premiere Elements Editor. That will put your slideshow on the Premiere Elements Timeline as a whole video file. Here is the nice part. If you want to do further edits of this whole video file, right click the whole video file on the Timeline and select and click on Break Apart Elements Organizer Slideshow to give you the flexibility for further significant edits.

Please note the following details which must be included so that they do not come as a surprise...

a. Best set manually the Premiere Elements project preset before opening the Elements Organizer for the transfer to the slideshow to the Premiere Elements project. The following includes how to set manually the Premiere Elements project preset.